First team to qualify for the semi-finals is China! Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo defeated Ireland by 4-1 but it was a controversial victory. Ireland's Ken Doherty believed China should have been docked a frame as Liang Wenbo started his singles
match against Fergal O'Brien without a bow-tie.
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| China team had a controversial win |
Doherty: "Liang turned up to play without his dicky bow on in the second frame and that's a dress code violation.'' ''The referee didn't realise it at first and Liang just gets a letter and fine for a dress code violation but he should've been docked a frame.'' "I also forgot my waistcoat once and was told I wasn't allowed to play.''
A World Snooker spokesman later confirmed there was nothing in the rules stating a frame should have been given to Ireland. The spokesman said: "Liang's violation of the dress code will be reported to the WPBSA disciplinary committee. However, players cannot be docked a frame for this violation alone.'' However China team did have better performance than Ireland. The two Chinese made 70, 59, 46 and 45 in the the frame they won to secure the win.
Australia team was defeated by the Welsh pair by 2-4 but Australia's Neil Roberston tipped his opponent to win this tournament. "Wales are one of the favourites and we did pretty well. I had a bit of an off day but we dug in deep and almost took it to the decider.'' Robertson said.
The two Australians are happy about their performance this week. They are going to focus on Australia Goldfields Open which will be held in their home country next week. "I'm proud of how Steve (Misfud) and I have played - he has done amazingly well. To get to the quarter-finals after getting through our group is a fantastic achievement and we should both be happy with our form going into Bendigo.''Robertson also added, "The Welsh team are looking good and I think they'll go on to win it. They have the world number one and Matthew Stevens as well and they're good friends off the table which is important." Wales is going to meet China in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Northern Ireland stopped Scotland's hope to win the $200,000 top prize of the tournament. Scotland lost 3-4 despite forcing a decider by the final black in the sixth frame. However, Mark Allen beaten John Higgins in the sudden death singles.
The four-time World Champion said after the lost, "I'm absolutely gutted," "Fair play to Northern Ireland as they played some good stuff and Stephen didn't get a chance in his single games - he was frozen out.''Mark Allen is not surprised with the victory and believed the better team won. He said: "Scotland were the tournament favourites and we put pressure on them as a team and we deserved to win.'' "It was good to put a show on for the watching fans and the match was played in good spirits.
Another hot-tipped team England was out! The team consists of Mark Selby and Ali Carter were surprisingly defeated by Hong Kong, formed by Marco Fu and amateur Fung Kwok Wai by 4-3.
Hong Kong once led England by 2-1 but England fightback to lead 3-2 for the first time. The sixth frame was an exciting safeties display. Hong Kong led 54-4 in the begining but England found advantages by brilliant snookers. England was rewarded 43 foul points but it did not stop Hong Kong winning the frame.
Hong Kong cleared the table after a mistake by the England team to level the match 3-3. Marco Fu and Mark Selby were sent to play the sudden death singles. Fu had a consistent performance in the decider, eventually won the match 4-3.
We have two teams from Asia in the semi-finals, China and Hong Kong. Will it be the first time that an Asian team is going to win the World Cup?
Stay tune for the winner of PTT-EGAT Snooker World Cup!
Semi-Finals: Wales v China and Hong Kong v Northern Ireland
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